Time just flew by this week; I can’t believe it’s the weekend already. I’ve been busy baking all week. I had a little mishap in the kitchen on Monday; I burned my hand terribly when I was deep frying Cannoli Shells for Natalie’s (my niece) Bridal Shower. The form slipped from the tongs and fell into the hot oil creating a huge splash before I knew it hot oil was everywhere and my hand was on fire (not literally). I was extremely lucky the outcome could have been much worse; I iced my hand for the rest of the evening and by the next day I was back in the kitchen and back to baking. Cannoli Shells – day two – much better!

My sister, Connie, belongs to a ladies group and I wanted to make something extra special for their get together this week. I decided on Charlotte con Mousse di Cioccolato Bianco e Lamponi (White Chocolate and Raspberry Charlottes) mini cakes.

I’ve made all the individual elements of this dessert many times but this is the first time I’ve put the elements together to create a Charlotte Russe. I had a difficult time with my Ladyfingers batter; in fact I had to make a second one. I was a little disheartened because my cookie batter whipped up beautifully. Unfortunately it was so hot outside and every time I piped a sheet of ladyfingers the cookie batter would spread so quickly. The ladyfingers were far too large. At this rate I would only need three cookies to line the moulds.

I decided to crank up the AC and when it was nice and chilly inside I made a second batter. Thankfully the second batter whipped up just as beautiful but this time the ladyfingers held their shape.

Growing up ladyfingers was a staple in our home. At a very young age I acquired a taste for coffee and I would drive my Mom crazy for a cup. She would put the tiniest droplet of coffee in the cup and then fill the rest of the cup with warm milk. She thought she had me fooled, sorry Mom! No sooner than she’d turn her back I would pour out the milk and add more coffee. Dunking ladyfingers in coffee – the best!

I was extremely happy with the textures of the White Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Mousse. Both were pillowy soft and smooth. I’ve started passing my mousses through a fine mesh sieve and it’s made a huge difference in the texture. It was an essential step in preparing the Raspberry Mousse. Although I initially pressed the raspberries through the sieve I still noticed seeds in the mousse (I hate seeds!). Taking the extra few minutes to pass the mousse through the sieve ensured a seed-free mousse.

When I finished preparing the Charlottes I realized I didn’t make an extra one to taste and to also slice in half and photograph to show the inner layers. What to do? Well, I couldn’t do anything about photographing the inner layers but when it came to tasting the assembled dessert? I did the next best thing – I made a ladyfinger sandwich. I think, I may be on to something – it was delicious!

I was a bit nervous to send off the desserts without tasting but thankfully Connie reported back and everyone enjoyed the Charlottes. Whew!

Place frozen raspberries in a fine mesh sieve set over a small bowl. Set aside to thaw.

Once thawed, using the back of a spoon press raspberries, a small batch at-a-time, through sieve so that the seedless pulp falls into the bowl (make sure to scrape bottom of sieve in between batches). Strained pulp should equal about 175 g (6-ounces).

Prepare an ice-water bath, set-aside.

In a small bowl, dissolve gelatine in cold water, set-aside to bloom for 5 minutes.

In a small-sized saucepan, stir together raspberry pulp and sugar and then bring mixture just to the boil over medium-high heat.

Add bloomed gelatine to raspberry mixture and stir together for 30 seconds to dissolve completely.

Transfer raspberry mixture to a medium-sized bowl and then place bowl over ice-water bath.

Chill, stirring occasionally, until raspberry mixture has slightly thickened and is cool to the touch.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the heavy cream to soft peak over high speed.

Press raspberry mousse through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard any solids. (This step is optional but recommended to achieve a smooth, pillowy mousse and also helps to remove any remaining raspberry seeds.)

Oh my, you did have a terrible day the other day! We need to live closer together so we can get together for a glass of wine on those days! Such a beautiful creation, as always. When your cookbook comes out I am first in line for a copy!

Wow. This looks quite amazing. How do you even do it? You are just such a great cook, I love your recipes. This one is probably one of my favorites, though! And I’m so sorry to hear about your hand. I’m so glad it’s feeling better!

That’s the nice thing about these cakes Julia, looks like you’ve worked really, really hard but in actual fact they are really pretty easy. Just a little time consuming because you have to do it in stages. I really hope you’ll give it a try. I am general close to my computer so if you attempt and you have questions you can email me and I will get back to you very quickly. And Julia thank you so very much for the beautiful comments you’ve left today, you’ve made my day!

I wanted to thank you for your help in finding chocolate and Paneangeli. I made the Torte Caprese and earned maximum brownie points. I’m still amazed at your vast array of goodies. I never thought of Italians as being much on dessert. I only remember tie plates and genettis? and later Tiramisu. Even Jeff Smith (there is a good Italian name) almost left desserts out of his Italian cook book. Was he just being lazy?
Of course at a wedding the sweets come out later in the evening which maybe answers my own question. Thanks again.

That is my favourite part of the Italian weddings is the sweet offerings at midnight. I remember my dessert table laden with all types of Italian cookies, cheesecakes, cakes, fruit. My cousin is a chef, actually he was a chef at Angelo’s Bakery for years. and he did my midnight buffet and he took care of all of the desserts and he did a flaming cherries jubilee for my wedding dessert. I didn’t grow up with a lot of desserts (my Mom wasn’t a big baker) but I do remember enjoying the Italian pastries and cookies and of course the almond cakes, ricotta cakes and fruit desserts. Very happy you found the chocolate and Paneangeli.

Laura I assembled the charlottes the night before my sister’s social and she served the next day. I have leftover mousse and in fact I received your comment as I was enjoying a few spoonfuls and it tastes wonderful and this is day 5. I’m not sure if you noticed my post on triple chocolate mousse cakes, I froze those (I made too many to serve) and the mousse stayed silky smooth and not at all grainy and I was able to indulge within 15 minutes of removing them from the freezer (I let them thaw in the refrigerator), I think the same could be done with the charlottes. In fact I made some special mousse cakes for my niece’s bridal shower, using the dark chocolate mousse and the white mousse and I made them in advance and froze them and removed them just as I was leaving for the bridal shower and everyone enjoyed them later that afternoon.

what an incredible dessert Grace! I hope your hand is better, burns are no fun at all, especially around heat!
I can’t believe you make your own ladyfingers too, you are just too talented!
Cheers
Dennis

Thanks Dennis. I’ve really been trying over the last year and a half to stay away from prepackaged treats, sweet and savoury. When I attended Jamie Oliver’s talk in Toronto on his food revolution my attitude started shifting and I am really trying to make everything at home. It takes a little more time but the end result is so worth it. I am so happy you commented today, I think I am finally going to take the plunge and make some entremets this week, I’ve been a little unsure of myself and my ability but after reading your guest post I’ve finally found the courage to try – so thank you to you and Lisa!

I love this desert. Your picture made me want to make it. I have one question. Where did you get the container to make tCharlotte Cakes in. You have a 1 inch ring mould. which store carries this mould? I want to try and make this for a baby shower but I can’t find the mould any where. Please let me know where to go. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It looks delicious. I hope I can make mine look and taste as good.

Hi Elaine, I really lucked out when I found this set at The Ultimate Baker, it’s a set of 6 for $20, ordering from them went well and they delivered quick – here’s the link directly to the ones I purchased – cooksdream (dot) com/store/cr326pc.html And I’m sure yours will taste wonderful too!

I wanted to let you know I found the molds in Atlanta, Ga at Sir La Tab. It is a great store and has everything a cook would want. The molds were $3.95 each. I did have to have my husband walk me through the steps. As a team effort it was good. As for the desert, it was a Wow factor at our baby shower. I found pink ribbon that said It’s a Girl. Everyone said the desert was wonderful and the ribbon made a statement for the shower. Thank you sooo much for sharing your recipe.

Elaine Sur La Table is one of my favourite stores, unfortunately we do not have one any where near where I live. Every time I visit my brother in New Jersey I travel about 45 minutes south from his home to shop my heart out. So happy to hear you found them and I sent along your tip where to find them to another visitor that is looking for them as well. What a great idea on the ribbon I bet they looked so adorable. I am really happy you all enjoyed!

Absolutely. You’ll have to make some adjustments. I recommend layering it in a springform pan. You’ll need to bake a base. If possible, I recommend baking the base in a baking tin slightly larger than your springform pan so that you can trim the cake so that it fits snug in the springform pan. It might be necessary to make more Ladyfinger batter (depending on the size of the springform pan). Also, you might need a little more setting time in between layers. Please let me know how it goes!